This qualitative multi-case study explored undergraduate psychology students' experiences participating in creative drama activities the instructor/researcher developed to teach psychological concepts. The study was conducted in three introductory and developmental courses in a mid-western community college setting. Participants (cases) included 13 students. Data sources included student-generated documents, researcher field notes and journal entries, and transcripts from individual interviews. Iterative inductive analysis informed by symbolic interactionism revealed a succession of complex, layered, interrelated themes pointing to salient interconnections among students' thoughts, emotions, physical selves, interactions with others, family and educational histories, and their experiences of the activities. The cases were first analyzed individually and then compared across cases, classes, and data sources. Cross case findings included a series of interconnected touchstones students used in making meaning from the activities; their bodies and thoughts, described sense of self, their experiences with family and education, their interactions with classmates, and their emotions. Students perceived the activities as agents for changing their class experiences, climate and learning. Students' prior family and learning experiences, particularly traumatic and highly stressful ones, seemed especially salient meaning-making touchstones. An alternative framing of student disengagement as struggles within the academy emerged. Findings suggested that certain pedagogical supports are necessary to implement the activities sensitively which related to the embodiment and relational teaching literature, Schon's (1983) model of reflective practice, and Huitt's (2003) Transactional Model of the Teaching Learning Process. These connections emphasized the need for a sense of safety, relational teaching, and reflection which changed aspects of implementing creative drama pedagogy. The document concludes with implications regarding instructor orientation to teaching, curriculum, supporting student learning, and undergraduate psychology education. The appendices include the activities used in the study and suggestions for pedagogical framing
